Enjoying a cuppa on the plane
Arriving at Miri Airport
We spent a total of four nights in Mulu National Park. 2 nights (the first and the last) at the HQ, and 2 nights at Camp 5 (for the Pinnacles Trail).
Upon arrival at Mulu, we hopped on to a run down van which served as a taxi to get from the Airport to the HQ. We opted for the budget accommodation at the HQ. For those with more dough to spare, there is always the higher class Royal Mulu Resort.
At the Entrance of Mulu National Park HQ
After settling in at the HQ at about 11am, there wasn't much to do as our first cave trip/adventure will only start at 2pm. All tours at Mulu National Park has to be accompanied by Park Guides, and cannot be undertaken by individual groups.
While waiting, we just lazed around the HQ, which houses a well equipped information center. There is a souvenir shop and cafeteria there as well.
Right about 2pm we all gathered at the Main office for the start of our trip to the Deer Cave and Bat Cave. We were first briefed by our guide who was named (you'll never guess it)... 'Undi'! Honest, that's his name.
Undi the guide, giving a short briefing
From the main office, it took us about an hour to walk to the entrance of the Deer and Bat cave. But the trail was easy as the park has put up a raised platform all the way.
The caves were amazing... The expanse of it was just outstanding. As expected, it was dark, cool and not to mention, damp inside the cave. But it was well lit, highlighting amazing limestone features. The amount and variety of the stalactites, stalagmites were outstanding! Not only that the features on the limestone were very interesting as well. But I guess nothing beats the famous 'Abraham Lincoln' limestone formation!
Amazing cave formation
The famous 'Abraham Lincoln' of Mulu
We had very much looked forward to viewing the exodus of bats from the caves that evening. It was said that the bats will swarm out from the cave in the thousands each evening. But alas, due to the rains, the bat decided to stay put in the cave that evening and we left feeling disappointed.
The next morning, we packed up to head for pinnacles trail challenge. We have to make our way to Camp 5 first. The Pinnacles trail takes a full day and that is the reason that we had to spend the night at Camp 5 before waking up early to tackle the climb the next day. From the HQ, we all hopped into a long boat.
All set in the long boat
There is no cafeteria at Camp 5 although a well equipped kitchen is available. It is expected that guests will prepare and cook their own food while staying at the Camp. Unfortunately, we did not find out about this till we were already in Mulu. So we had no choice but to make a stop at one of the villages along to way to stock up on food. And I must warn that the prices of things in Mulu is jacked up like mad! We should have brought in our supplies from Miri. It would have been much much cheaper.
Stocking up at the village store
But that being said, we were still very grateful that we could actually stock up. Else we will have to endure having to live of just the snacks and energy bars that we brought. I guess we really had to count our every single one of our blessings.
On the way, we also stopped at two more caves... Wind Cave and Clearwater Cave. The highlight was a underground river that runs through the Clearwater Cave.
A river that runs through the cave
After going through some shallow waters, we finally arrived a Kuala Litut. Here, we had to continue on foot to Camp 5. We unloaded our stuff (including the supplies that we just bought) and proceeded to hike for 8km to reach Camp 5. Luckily, the trail was quite flat (although we had to be vary of leeches that lurked around). But with a heavy load on our backs, it was still quite a challenge.
Camp 5, our home for the next two nights
Camp 5 is built on a clearing by a river. The view is very picturesque, with mountain ranges on both sides. When we arrived, there was a large group of hikers already there. Apparently, they were from an adventure club based in KL. The started their climb up to the pinnacles that morning, and some of them had already made the trip down and were relaxing at the camp. We chatted with them for a while, and they shared some of their experience of the hike. It really sounded tough!
That evening, there were some commotion at Camp 5 as 7 members of the adventure clubbers were not back yet, despite it being dark already. And the cold rain didn't help at all. Those back at the camp were starting to get worried.
Our guide for the trail the next day, came over to our room and gave us a short briefing. The message from him was loud and clear... the pinnacles trail, although only 2.4km long, is very steep and TOUGH!!! And the hike down is much more challenging that the hike up. He really made us nervous with stories about the hikers who were still not back yet. The trail is rocky, and full of intertwined tree roots. This makes it a very difficult hike down. And it being wet and dark makes it a thousand times worse.... After that 'pep talk' we all got nervous and went to sleep (it was only 8pm that time) determined to wake up early to start the hike so that we don't get trapped up there.
{Fortunately, by 10pm all the previous hikers made it back to the Camp).
The next morning, two guides (Joseph and Andrew) led our team up to the Pinnacles. True enough, the trail was very challenging. For much of the first parts, the trail was steep, and rocky. I had to stop to catch my breath every now and then. After about 2 hours, we reached the 2km mark. It also marked the start of the 'vertical' route. Here, the trails is extremely steep and full of precarious sharp rocks. We had to use ropes, ladders and courageously step over steel bars that function as bridges over deep ravines. I refused to allow myself to weigh in how dangerous it was at that time, but looking back... it really was. One mis-step will cause severe injury. Plus you will still have to make your own way back down the steep trail to get help. What a challenge....
The tough climb up
Catching my breath
Start of the vertical climb
A warning.. please heed
Waiting for my turn at the ropes
A precarious bridge. Slipping brings dire consequences!
But I am glad to say, that all of us successfully made it to the top, to enjoy the breath-taking view of the famous pinnacles. The Pinnacles are natural limestone formations, shaped by nature. After partaking our lunch there, and snapping lots of photos, we proceeded to make our trip down.
And just as everyone said, the trail down is much worse or challenging than the trail up. As the whole mountain is basically just rock, there is not flat area or leaves to cushion your step. We either had to step on rocks or tree roots. After a while, it really felt like every step that I took was a foot reflexology. It was torturous! Just imagine a 3 hour foot reflexology with a super master, and you will get an idea of what i mean.
Hurray, we have reached the peak!
Playing a fool up at the peak
Breath-taking views of the Pinnacles
I was so exhausted and my muscles so over-used that once back at the Camp, I just sat at the bench and didn't move an inch for more than half an hour!!!
But once recovered, I was rewarded with a cool, refreshing bath in the river...
Dead tired!
So, was the view of the Pinnacles worth the pain and exhaustion? Arguably yes (maybe?). Is the pain worth the confidence booster of "if i can do this trail, i can certainly do 'that'"? Definitely, a thousand times YES!
The victorious gang who conquered the Pinnacles
We spent the night, all sleeping like babies at Camp 5 that night. But the next morning, we all woke up to a severe case of muscle-aches all over. But despite that, we still had to carry our backpacks and make the 8km hike out of Camp 5 where the long boats were waiting to take us back to HQ.
That evening, we braved our muscle aches to make the 1 hour walk to the bat observatory. And we were rewarded with the amazing view of bats swarming out of the cave. It was a truly spectacular sight that is not to be missed!!!
1 comment:
I cant believe that you can still remember all the details.....for me, I don't really remember how tough the trail was and how suffer I was.....
Post a Comment